China to allow private capital into financial sector

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday that the government should allow private capital to enter the financial sector and make the process "standardized and open".

China's financial authorities are actively considering taking private financing activities in China's east city of Wenzhou as one of the pilots for an overall reform in this field, Wen told a news conference after the conclusion of the annual parliamentary session.

"We need to encourage their development, and at the same time put them under strict oversight and supervision," said Wen when commenting on the case of Wu Ying, a businesswoman who was once listed among the country's richest women and faced death penalty for cheating investors out of several hundred million yuan.